Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or any of it's characters. If I did, L would still be alive =(
I am not making any money from the publishing of this fanfic.
There was no way to describe the sheer awkwardness of their currant situation, however, there was nothing that he would not endure in order to clear his name with L, the lead detective on the Kira task force, so that he could continue working with the team to catch the infamous murderer. This, however, went a little more over the top than he had envisioned. He glanced irritably at the metal cuff encircling his left wrist and the length of chain connecting it to the cuff's twin which was enclosed around L's right wrist.
He was to be under 24-hour surveillance, for an undetermined amount of time, until L was satisfied that he was not Kira. He had thought that perhaps he would simply have a task force member tailing him at all times, never had he imagined that he would be literally chained to one of the detectives, least of all the one leading the case. Not that he had anything against the older man, but he did have many peculiarities that made being in such close contact with him somewhat uncomfortable.
He would, however, abide by L, or Ryuzaki's terms. The sooner he was cleared, the sooner they could get to truly working together to solve the case, which would be much easier when they were no longer suspecting their own members.
I just have to try and see the positives in this, Light thought to himself in an attempt to cheer himself up. This way you get to work closely with the great detective, L. You can see firsthand how he works and maybe even learn something from him.
No matter how he looked at it, though, there was just no way of getting around his discomfort. There they stood, linked together by this accursed chain, and Light was wracking his brain for the best way to make to make this work. Ryuzaki, on the other hand, didn't appear fazed at all by the problem presented before them.
Light wasn't normally one to complain, but he was unusually tired, and the events of the day were beginning to take their toll on him. All he wanted right now was to crawl into the rather comfortable looking bed before him and sleep. When he had brought the matter up to Ryuzaki, the elder male had risen from his crouched position before the array of computer monitors and led the way silently upstairs, a laptop tucked under one arm.
Now that they were in one of the bedrooms upstairs reserved for the task force members, Light was rethinking his decision to go to bed at all.
"Well, aren't you tired?" Ryuzaki asked as he climbed onto one side of the large bed, settling into his usual crouched position and setting the laptop up in front of him. Obviously, he had no intention of sleeping, and was planning to work though the night despite being away from the computers downstairs. The chain between them was stretched taught now with the distance L had put between them, and the metal cuff was biting into the flesh of Light's wrist.
Perhaps he was making too big of a deal out of this. L obviously wasn't bothered by their sleeping arrangements, so why should he? He was so tired, and the only thing stopping him from climbing into that bed was the other male seated atop it, his attention fixed solely on the computer screen.
"If you're not going to sleep, then we may as well go back downstairs," Ryuzaki said in a rather indifferent tone.
"Yeah...right, "Light answered finally, closing the distance between him and the bed, relieving the tension on the chain so that it no longer pulled against him. Tentatively he approached the opposite side of the bed, tempted by the plush pillows and silky sheets. He would have preferred to change out of his day clothes and into something more comfortable than his jeans and button-down shirt, but he just lacked the energy. He would deal with the discomfort for now, but he made a mental not to have sleep clothes available tomorrow night.
Finally relenting, he let out a sigh and scrambled into the bed rather ungracefully, putting as much space as was possible between he and Ryuzaki. He was so tired that he didn't even bother to climb beneath the covers, and instead lay sprawled atop the bed, glad to finally be able to lay down and stop thinking for a while.
The feeling of sinking into the soft mattress was euphoric, and Light couldn't hold in the sigh of contentment that escaped his lips. Reaching up, he flicked the switch on the bedside lamp, plunging the room into darkness, save for the white light produced by L's laptop.
Light closed his eyes and tried to relax and clear his mind, knowing that if he continued to think of anything relevant to the case he would never sleep, and unlike L, he could not function that way.
After what seemed like an eternity of tossing and turning, Light realized that he would never be able to sleep with the light emitting from the computer as well as the sound of L's incessant typing. This was not working out the way he had envisioned.
"Ryuzaki," Light said with a yawn, turning over to face the older male. He was still crouching on the bed, the sleek laptop still running and illuminating L's features in a harsh white light. The bags under his eyes were especially bad tonight, but perhaps they only looked so terrible in contrast with his pale skin.
"I thought you wanted to sleep," L responded without sparing him a glance, his fingers still flying over the keyboard.
"I can't," Light answered softly.
L ceased his computer work. He turned his head ever so slightly, glancing at Light from beneath his messy bangs. "Can't sleep?" he repeated. When it came to insomnia, Ryuzaki knew it all. "Why?"
Light shrugged. "The light from the screen is too bright, the sound of you typing is distracting, and I just can't stop thinking," he groaned. It sounded to him as if he was complaining, and he hated it.
L was silent for a moment while the two simply stared at each other, one exhausted and the other contemplating. There was a soft click and the room was plunged into complete darkness. Ryuzaki had shut the laptop, and the sound of shuffling suggested that he was finally setting it aside for the night.
"What are you doing? You don't sleep, and if you're not working what will you do all night?" Not that he didn't appreciate Ryuzaki making an effort to make sleeping easier on him, but he doubted that the older male was going to sleep, and the idea of him simply sitting there doing nothing while he slept didn't sit well with Light.
Suddenly there were hands on his shoulders, pushing him so that he was rolling over onto his stomach. "Hey!" Light's voice was muffled from having his face pushed into the pillow. "Ryuzaki, what the hell are you doing?" Light pushed himself up on his elbows, searching in the dark for the famous detective.
"You're too loud," came Ryuzaki's answer, and Light could tell from that alone that the older male was much closer than he had though. "I'm going to help you sleep," he answered as if it should have been obvious. "Take off your shirt."
"Excuse me?" How in the world would stripping help him sleep?
"Just trust me. Being cool and comfortable is essential to sleeping restfully. Also, it is best if you are in darkness and without excessive noise as well," Ryuzaki explained as if it should have been obvious. "You will not be comfortable with this type of shirt."
"I know that, but it isn't like I can actually take it off, not with this chain," Light nearly growled, flipping over onto his back so that he no longer felt so vulnerable. He still could not quite tell where the other male was in the darkness, but it's not like he could go more than a couple feet away.
Hands were instantly upon him, nimble fingers plucking at the buttons of hist shirt and loosening them before Light could so much as have uttered a protest. "It doesn't matter, I can have it replaced," came L's vague reply as he made quick work of the garment, pushing it over Light's shoulders and off one arm so that it dangled between them on the chain. Without so much as a second thought, Ryuzaki gave the fabric a sharp tug so that the sleeve ripped, freeing the chain from it's hold, and L tossed it to the ground carelessly.
"Hey! I liked that shirt!" Light protested. He was unable to see exactly what kind of condition the shirt was now in, but he had heard the material rip, and he knew that almost the entire sleeve would most likely have been destroyed in the process.
"I said that I would replace it. It is only a shirt," Ryuzaki answered calmly, as if he were speaking to a child. "Now, roll back over onto your stomach so that we can begin," he commanded softly.
"Begin? Begin what?" Light was starting to panic, though it was very out of character for him. He was usually so collected and composed, but for some reason this entire situation was putting him on edge. What were L's intentions? Where did he plan for all of this to go? Surely he did not mean to seduce him, right?
No, of course not. L wasn't like that, was he?
Ryuzaki sighed audibly. "Begin helping you sleep, of course. Now, roll over, please." His request was accompanied by the insistent pushing of L's hands, his fingers closing over his shoulders and effectively flipping him over once more. Light had to give it to him, he was definitely stronger than he appeared, something he had learned the hard way when the two had gotten into a fistfight in Misa's room not so long ago.
The younger male offered less resistance this time, wanting to trust L but unable to ignore the doubt swirling around in his mind.
"Now, arms at your sides please, and turn your head to the side as well," L coaxed, keeping his voice soft so as not to work up the younger male any further. Though he was partially doing this to help ease Light's temporary insomnia, for he knew how dreadfully inconvenient it could be, he was also doing this as a way to study the reactions of his main Kira suspect.
Light was allowing himself to be put in a very vulnerable position, and it was only natural to have some fear or anxiety, but the question was would Kira allow himself to be manipulated in such a way by the very man hunting him down? Would he willingly let his enemy have so much power over him during such a weak moment?
L didn't think so. Whatever the answer may be, he would still be able to get a good look at Light's reactions, and hopefully be able to be a better judge of his character.
Light hesitated before following the elder male's instructions. He turned his head to the side before lying down on the pillow, his arms down at his sides. Despite his compliance, he was still very tense, and when he felt a foreign weight settle across his hips he nearly jerked in surprise.
The bastard was straddling him!
"Ryuzaki-!" His objection was silenced almost immediately, and just as quickly replaced by a moan of mild pain mixed with relieved pleasure.
The detective's fingers had effectively located a knot in one of his shoulders, and without even a second of hesitation began to knead the muscle skillfully. The initial pain was more than a little mild, but the resulting pleasure was more than worth it.
"You are very tense, which can affect your sleeping patterns," L explained as he worked the knot before moving on to another one. "In turn, sleeping poorly can make this tenseness worse, and the cycle will begin anew worse each night."
Ryuzaki's skilled fingers continued to locate and relieve the pressure from each knot in his shoulders and upper back, some that Light didn't even know he had. Once a few minutes had passed, Light was finally satisfied that the older man did not have any ulterior motives and allowed himself to relax more fully, letting out a content sigh.
"How do you know all this?" the younger of the pair asked as he shifted slightly, trying to get more comfortable with L's weight still settled atop his hips.
"I am actually quite good at this sort of thing," the detective answered, moving his hands even further down Light's back, poking and prodding at the stiff muscles in such a way that under normal circumstances would have been considered odd.
"You are," Light agreed, "but that is not what I meant." The Kira suspect knew that Ryuzaki had an extremely severe case of insomnia, only sleeping every three or four days, as opposed to every night like most people. However, he didn't suspect the great detective to have much knowledge as to what could be done to alleviate the condition, as it was obvious that he still slept rather poorly on the nights he attempted to rest merely for the sake of his body.
Had he ever tried any of this himself?
"That is neither here nor there," the dark-haired man answered. "All that matters is that this information can help you now."
Light should have known. There was no way L was going to give out any information about himself that was not strictly on a need-to-know level.
"What else can help?" he asked drowsily. Light could feel his body relaxing beneath L's nimble fingers, and as a result he was beginning to feel the first tugs of sleep pulling at his mind. He wasn't particularly interested in the answer, because it wasn't as if he had this problem often, but he did want to keep Ryuzaki talking.
"There are many activities you can do, as well as avoid, that will aid with healthy nighttime sleep patterns. A light snack before bed, or a non-strenuous workout will suffice as well. Incidentally, you should avoid any activities that involve screens at least two hours before bed, so under normal circumstances doing computer work before bed would be considered counterproductive. Also, a bed should not be used for anything other than sleep and sexual activity," he ended bluntly.
"I-is that so?" Light stuttered. Normally, the subject of sex didn't fluster him, but with the older male sitting atop him in such a way and massaging the tense muscles of his nude back, he was slightly uncomfortable talking about such a thing.
"Indeed," Ryuzaki murmured. "You will find it easier to sleep if your mind does not associate a bed with other activities."
"But you are constantly using computers and other devices with screens, and you were just working in bed," Light shot back. "No wonder you can almost never sleep." He let out a strangled groan when L's hands moved still lower down his back.
L shrugged. "I have tried all of these methods at one point or another, and after a time I realized that none of these solutions would work for me, and the only other options were sleeping drugs, which were not an acceptable alternative."
Light wondered if the constant lack of sleep bothered the detective at all. It didn't seem to hinder his performance while working, but perhaps that was the result of his substantial sugar intake. He sighed, it wasn't likely that he would ever understand L, but that didn't stop him from trying to learn about the elder man.
Those talented fingers moved even lower down his back, coming to the lowest part of his back right above the waistband of his pants. His movements never ceased, fingertips stroking skin and kneading muscle, determined to work out every knot he could get to. Light wondered how much farther the older man was going to take this massage, and suddenly he was blushing furiously. He was immensely thankful that the room was cloaked in darkness, lest Ryuzaki witness his embarrassing reaction. He was also suddenly hyper-aware of the detective straddling his hips so casually, as if it were only natural for him to do so.
"You are tense again. Shall I start over?" L asked quietly, never once ceasing his movements..
"N-no, it's alright," Light answered quickly. He didn't think he could take much more of this.
"Are you certain? I could-"
"No, really, it's fine," the younger male interrupted before L could make an offer that Light was sure he would be unable to refuse. This entire thing had gone much too far already. "I think I should be able to sleep now," he whispered, faking a yawn that quickly turned genuine. He was exhausted.
"Well, if you say so." L shifted off him, and settled back into his previous spot.
The Kira suspect let out a light sigh of relief. For a moment there he wasn't sure where the entire scenario had been leading up to. However, he was grateful, for Ryuzaki had worked a miracle with his nimble fingers. Light now felt much more relaxed and drowsy, as if he would fall asleep at any moment. In fact, that was just what he was going to do.
He no longer cared that he was still wearing his jeans, or that he was chained to L, that they were sharing a bed, or even that the eccentric detective would most likely be sitting beside him the rest of the night doing nothing but deducing all the ways that Light could be guilty of being Kira.
He would have to remember to thank Ryuzaki later, but all that mattered now was the sweet siren's call of sleep, and he was happy to oblige.
Author's Note: Alright, so this was my first Death Note story. I absolutely love L, and for whatever stupid reason I like Light too (sometimes, most of the time I want tp punch him in the face).
Anyway, let me know what you think in your reviews!